|
|
October 3 -World Habitat Day
World Habitat Day is annually celebrated on the first Monday of October. Initiated by the United Nations in 1986 with the theme of “Shelter is My Right”, Nairobi had the honor of being the first host city of World Habitat Day. Every year, a new theme is chosen to mark the day. The theme of year 2010 is “Better City, Better Life”. The occasion calls for a reflection on the state of human settlements and people’s right to sufficient shelter. World Habitat Day focuses on promoting the right to adequate shelter for one and all. The day reminds the people of their responsibility to secure habitats for the future generations.
According to data, more than million people are either born in or move to urban cities every week. This holds particularly true in developing countries. With such mass exodus taking place, there is bound to have habitat problem in the world. As urban population is increasing rapidly, issue of housing accommodation has emerged as a major problem. Millions of people all over the world are deprived of basic housing accommodation. New affordable units are the need of the hour but the burgeoning population has made things really difficult for countries. Lack of resources, poor finance and inadequate planning etc are further complicating the problem.
World Habitat Day is celebrated in many countries around the world. Various events and activities are organized to examine and solve the problems of rapid urbanization and its impact on the environment and human poverty. Voluntary organizations hold different functions, seminars and workshops to address the problem of housing. One of the important highlights of the day is the “Habitat Scroll of Honor” award. United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UNHSP) had launched this award in the year 1989. Considered as one of the world’s most prestigious human settlements award, “habitat Scroll of Honor” is given to those individual and organizations that have made outstanding contributions in varied areas such as developing human settlements, shelter provision, improving the conditions of human dwellings and addressing the plight of the homeless etc.
|
|
